What is Cut?

Cut was created to take advantage of the increasing online presence of people, and the use of web-based technologies in behavioral and social science research. Broadly, I aimed for two things:

Usability: Facilitate the use of engaging and sophisticated research instruments in studies, by going beyond simple multiple choice questions and scales. Some available tools developed by psychologists and others are too specific in their use-cases, and narrow in their application. In contrast, others have developed platforms that are too generalized and require extensive effort and learning. A balance between these two poles was needed.
Adaptability: A second issue was running these instruments on different platforms and mobile devices. People today use their phones more than their computers for the majority of non-work stuff. Also, these devices offer access to a much larger population, in arguably more ecologically valid settings, at significantly lower costs. No one studying modern humans can ignore mobile devices.

Lens: The Evolution of Cut

Lens is the evolution of Cut, a platform that revolutionizes how researchers create and deploy interactive research instruments. Built with React and Material UI, Lens simplifies study design for experimenters while providing a seamless, device-adaptive experience for participants.

Why Lens?

🚀 Rapid Development: Create complex experiments using simple JSON configuration files
🌍 Multilingual Support: Built-in i18n support for English, Farsi, Arabic, and more
📱 Device Adaptive: Works seamlessly on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices
🎯 Research-Ready: Includes validated cognitive tasks and economic games
📊 Integrated Surveys: Combine interactive tasks with traditional survey elements
🔬 Published Research: Used in peer-reviewed publications

Available Experiments

Lens supports a comprehensive suite of research instruments:

Cognitive Tasks

Task	Description	Demo
BART	Balloon Analogue Risk Task - Measures risk-taking behavior	Try it
Stroop	Cognitive interference task measuring selective attention	Try it
Go/NoGo	Response inhibition task with go and no-go stimuli	Try it
Task Switch	Measures cognitive flexibility by switching between tasks	Try it
N-back	Working memory task requiring recall of previous stimuli	Try it

Economic Games

Game	Description	Demo
Ultimatum Game	Measures fairness and negotiation behavior	Try it
Dictator Game	Measures altruism and fairness preferences	Try it

Survey Elements

Text Input: Instruction pages, text questions, autocomplete fields
Matrix Questions: Multiple choice with sliders, vertical/horizontal layouts
Prolific Integration: Specialized participant management

Comprehensive Demo

See all experiment types in action: Demo Comprehensive

Key Features

Flexible Experiment Design

JSON-Based Configuration: Define entire studies with simple JSON files
Sequential Views: Chain multiple tasks and questions in any order
Conditional Logic: Support for different experimental conditions
Custom Styling: Markdown support for rich text formatting

Internationalization

Multi-language Support: Currently supports English, Farsi, and Arabic
Easy Translation: Add new languages by adding translation JSON files
RTL Support: Full right-to-left language support

Responsive Design

Mobile-First: Optimized for all screen sizes
Touch-Friendly: Works with mouse, keyboard, and touch inputs
Adaptive UI: Material UI components adapt to device capabilities

Research Features

Data Collection: Automatic response collection in structured format
Progress Tracking: Built-in progress indicators
Validation: Required field validation and attention checks
Randomization: Support for trial and choice randomization

Architecture

Lens uses a JSON-driven architecture where experimenters define studies using configuration files. The platform:

Loads experiment configuration from JSON
Renders views sequentially based on the configuration
Collects responses in a structured format
Submits data to your backend API

This approach provides:

Separation of Concerns: Logic separated from presentation
Version Control: Experiments as code
Rapid Iteration: Update experiments without code changes
Reproducibility: Share exact experiment configurations

For detailed demo seen the Demo page Demo.

Research & Publications

Lens has been used in published research and is supported by:

The New School for Social Research
Association for Psychological Science (APS)

Published Research

Rad, M. S., Ansarinia, M., & Shafir, E. (2023). Temporary self-deprivation can impair cognitive control: evidence from the Ramadan fast. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 49(3), 415-428. View Publication

Getting Started

This is work in progress. Please check the demos page for details and examples of how experiments are configured.

Creating Your First Experiment

Experiments are defined using JSON configuration files. A simple example:

{
  "studyId": "my-study",
  "condition": "a",
  "redirectTo": "https://example.com",
  "submissionNote": "submission.note",
  "metadata": {
    "maintainer": "your.email@example.com"
  },
  "views": [
    {
      "id": "intro",
      "type": "text",
      "instruction": true,
      "text": "intro"
    },
    {
      "id": "bart-task",
      "type": "bart",
      "reward": 10,
      "maxPumps": 20,
      "safePumps": 1,
      "trials": 25
    }
  ]
}

Experiments are accessed via: https://lens.cut.social/#/{studyId}/{language}